look what i found about NYC Tap water

i've read that some reefers use tap water from certain areas because the contaminants arent that significant so i figured id go look up what we have here in our tap water and hear some opinions

 

ehhh...even if my tap water was chlorine/fluoride and phosphate free i would still run my RO/DI. the addition of any unknown variable is not worth the stress IMHO.

 

http://www.ewg.org/tap-water/home

My tap water has arsenic in it!

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lead, really? lol

 

Some people say that. It's been debated quite a bit and I don't buy it. For one thing, no tap water is that good. You'll always have too much of some things. How bad that is depends, but it's not likely a good thing. A substantial proportion of trace elements have been shown to be bad if there is too much of them. Although there probably are useful ones, most have never been shown to be useful. So, when it comes to trace elements more often your better off erring on the side of too little. Also, salts tend to have too many anyways due to impurities from the manufacturing process.

Another issue is consistency. If it rains, or there is some river run off, or the town flushes the system that day, you can get tremendously high levels of impurities and you'll most likely never realize it, other than noticing your tank dosn't look as healthy as normal.

When I first started reefkeeping, I lived in an area with "good" tap water and my LFS assured me it was fine to use. I never noticed any difference in my livestock after I changed the water and if I did it was normally negative. Once I switched to RO/DI I definitely started noting changes, but positive changes, corals perked up algae started disappearing etc..

I just don't believe that there is "good" tap water. That's based on both the science/data and based on my own experience. Some people may do so and get away with it, but that's not to say they wouldn't notice a positive difference if they used filtered water.

 

very well put i would have never thought of if the city flushes there systems and stuff but on a side not i am looking into purchasing a RO/DI i hear that the RO water from the LFS can be just as worse if not worse than tap water since the machinery tends to be neglected. is there any significant differences assuming the membrane is rated for the same size particles as an expensive RO compare to a cheap 4 stage from ebay for like $50 compared to a big name brand RO in the triple digits? I dont have any test kits for phosphorous and other chemicals other than the basics so i wouldnt be able to tell you if thats the case with my LFS so i figured it would be easier and cheaper in the long run to buy an RO anyway.

 

im lucky enough to just goto the organic grocery store and pay 1.99 for 5gal of RO/DI water. I've never added tap water because when I tried doing that in my cichlid tank they really stressed out(cichlid ph around 8.4, most tap water 6.9-7.2) It's all about the water quality baby!

 

There are major differences in RO/DI systems and ebay is not the place to shop for them.

There are many reef quality systems available starting at around $120 and topping out around $260 for the best in the business. Better quality systems will use better sediment filters and carbon blocks so the RO membrane will perform better and last longer saving you money in the long run. If the membrane is performing better then the DI resin lasts longer and performs better again saving you even more money. Yes you may pay a little more for a good system up front but it will return that investment in no time compared to a budget system that will require more frequent filter, membrane and DI replacements which costs you from then on. There really is a difference.

Check out the RODI-90-REFURB here for $120, they don't come any better at that price:
Untitled Document

or the BFS-161 found here:
http://www.buckeyefieldsupply.com/showproducts.asp?Category=168&Sub=166

or the Optima series here:
RO DI | Saltwater Aquarium Water Filters | Reverse Osmosis Booster Pump

or the Reefkeeper here:
Melevsreef.com - Welcome!

Those are just a few examples of a good reef quality system at a good price.

 

thanks for the info that was a response that covered all subjects of what i asked alot of people would just say get the expensive ones they are better and no explanations

 

I'm not sure anyone, on any of the boards understands water filtration better than AZ, so, I'll just say +1 to his answer